The perceived property bubble in South Africa is not about to burst, if current world trends are anything to go by, says Denise Dogon of Dogon Group Properties.

Dogon has just returned from London and New York, where property prices have risen steadily for seven years. “While it is reported every year that the market in these cities is overheated, there are no indicators that prices are going down - and the same factors influence sales in South Africa,” she says.

Dogon says the agents from top overseas property companies that she met with had said categorically that the market had not gone down, although in some areas it had reached a plateau and then corrected itself.

 

A new concept in luxury retirement living is being introduced to Cape Town with the launch of the Palm Garden Retreat, a secluded, high-security retirement development in Sea Point.

The retirement centre will provide an opportunity for buyers to move from their homes into a five-star “hotel” environment, says Naomi Sadman of Dogon/Group Properties, the marketing agent.

The developers, Inner Cape Investments, aim to provide surroundings of a top international standard where residents can fulfil their dream of living well in their golden years, says Sadman, adding that there is a need for accommodation of this type in the Sea Point area.

Dogon/Group Properties notched up record sales of over R50-million last month, despite a market that Denise Dogon describes as “choppy”.
Dogon, who has just been nominated for the Nedbank Property Professionals’ “Movers and Shakers” award, says that since the beginning of 2005 the market has been unusual. While there has been a great deal of interest from international investors who see Cape Town as one of the world’s growth cities, prices have risen and this has affected the affordability of many properties.

 

Another factor impacting on the current market is that high entry level prices for top-end properties are attracting increasingly sophisticated overseas buyers who expect world-class service, but many unqualified agents entering the industry are too inexperienced to adequately service their needs.

The last five or six homes sold by Dogon/Group Properties in Clifton have achieved the highest rand per square metre prices ever attained in South Africa, according to Denise Dogon, the principal of the company.

Properties in Clifton are now selling at between R40 000 and R50 000 per square metre, breaking residential records in the sought-after suburb, she says.Dogon, whose company held 75% of the Clifton market in April and has had the lion’s share of top-priced sales, says these extraordinary prices are being achieved irrespective of whether the properties sold are plots, apartments, bungalows or houses.

RUGBY star Bob Skinstad has become a partner in a new residential property rental company being launched by Denise Dogon of Dogon|Group Properties.

Local technology expert Will Mellor is the third partner in the business, which has been named DG Rentals.

Skinstad will be the "face" of the new rental company in the international sports arena. The player's network of sporting connections will be invaluable in attracting an encouraging top professional sports men and others to visit South Africa, says Dogon.

 

 

CONDE NAST HOUSE AND GARDEN - SOUTH AFRICA
NOVEMBER 2005 ISSUE

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